


distractions

by bisexualhamlet



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: >:), 5+1 Things, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Bisexual Disaster Jeremy Heere, Drunken Shenanigans, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Gay Connor Murphy (Dear Evan Hansen), Gay Michael Mell, Halloween, Hurt/Comfort, I dont know how to tag, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jeremy Heere Is a Furry, Kinda, Kissing, Lesbian Brooke Lohst, Lesbian Zoe Murphy, M/M, Multi, Oblivious Jeremy Heere, Oblivious Michael Mell, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Jake Dillinger, Pining Jeremy Heere, Pining Michael Mell, Rare Pairings, Slow Burn, Soft Rich Goranski, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Jake Dillinger, Underage Drinking, alex mcangst has crawled out of her cave and is rubbing her goblin hands together, but angst muwahahahha, but since im an admin on a fic rec site i have learned how to tag, but zoe is underaged, by that i mean they arent 21, coma mentions, group chat about gays, hell yeah, kind of only a bit, like a lot of fluff, maybe light angst???, obligatory halloween party, omg wait i just realized furry jeremy is a tag, shes 17 but still a gremlin, this was dumb, two fake relationships that everyone knows are fake except the two disaster gays, yes thats perfect, you're welcome i know you wanted it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:49:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16604396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualhamlet/pseuds/bisexualhamlet
Summary: five times everyone is too busy wondering when jeremy and michael will finally get together to notice that rich and connor were falling in loveakaalex has no impulse control and pulls aus out of her ass (summary and tags will be edited as i continue to write and post)





	1. beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> hi welcome to this au i love connor/rich more than i love myself and u cant PRY that shit outta my hands pls comment  
> this is kinda short bc am Lazy but also pls show it love anyway  
> unedited and unbeta'd ill edit it after i read it for the next week

When Connor graduated, he left his parents’ house, went as far as he could, making his way to the furthest he could go where they still accepted him with his shitty grades from the few times he did attend class, relying on his SAT scores more than he should’ve, the ones he attended hours of tutoring and begged Zoe for help for. It didn’t carry him as far as he’d like, but it was enough distance to feel the weight of the world slide off his shoulders when he dropped his bag in his new dorm. It wasn’t great, but he didn’t expect it to be. His roommate was nice enough, but Connor was never good at making friends. They exchanged names, states, numbers, before someone poked their head in and gave his roommate a smile that reduced him to a mushy mess that had him calling out a quick goodbye as he reached out to meet a hand halfway. Connor fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, breathing deeply as he took in sounds that weren’t his parents’ passive aggressive comments or Zoe’s annoying friends being loud enough to carry through the walls, these sounds were other students, ones who didn’t know who Connor was, what he had ever done, who didn’t have an preconceived notion of him. He smiled.

He was woken up by loud yells from across the hall. His neighbor had arrived before him, but had stayed relatively quiet until their roommate arrived. Judging by the “ _ yo yo jakey-d what’s good”  _ and  _ “goranski its been too long”,  _ they probably knew each other. He rolled over and groaned into his pillow, reaching over blindly to look for his phone. When he read out  _ loser #2,  _ he unlocked his phone and tried to decipher what the text read. Unable to read and comprehend what the text read, he gave up and dialed the number.

“Hansen, if that’s your idea of sexting, I gotta tell you, it’s lacking.” He heard a coughing fit in response.

_ “I just didn’t want to seem like I was pressuring you to reply or to-” _

“Just come over. I texted you my room number ages ago and I know your selective memory probably stored it away. My roommate is out.” He hung up before he could get a response and forced himself to sit up. Although he had made it clear he was trying to get away from everything back home, Hansen had followed him here, probably on scholarship. They weren’t exactly close but there were some things that brought people together. At least he knew Hansen wasn’t back home, using weird flora themed pick up lines on his sister. Besides, knowing someone besides his roommate couldn’t hurt. He heard a knock on the door and rolled his eyes, wondering how someone could make a knock sound shy. He opened it and gestured for Hansen to come in, glancing over at his neighbors across the hall, seeing their door open and already starting to fill up with other people. As he took in their faces, he wondered faintly which ones were his actual neighbors  _ (he didn’t know that at some point, this wouldn’t matter, they would all come and go as they pleased) _ .

Hansen’s dorm was nicer to hang out in, since he didn’t have a roommate and Connor more often than not volunteered to give his roommate the dorm. He didn’t always have time to decide though, and would take one look at the tie on the door and the  _ sorry!  _ written on the small whiteboard on the door and turn right around, already pulling out his phone to text Hansen  _ put ur dick back in ur pants ill be there in 5.  _ He didn’t mind people seeing him walk back to his dorm in yesterday’s clothing because they could think whatever they wanted, and he would rather have them thinking he was doing the walk of shame than to let them know he was sexiled. At least he looked good in one of those scenarios. 

It was on one of these walks back that he finally encountered his neighbors. The guy was short and blond, which reminded him of Hansen, but Hansen would probably faint at the idea of dyeing his hair any color. The red was fading, he could tell it hadn’t been dyed in a few weeks from watching the purple fade from Zoe’s hair, when he had refused to bleach his hair to match with her,  _ edgy emo _ on the tip of his tongue, but it never left his lips, she looked too proud of her mediocre dye job for him to open his mouth. The burn marks were unmistakable, but Connor ducked his gaze, he didn’t like when people stared at his arms when he wore short sleeves either. Before he was able to open the door to his dorm, deciding that getting clean clothes, even if he had to get ready at Hansen’s, was worth the risk, his neighbor raised an eyebrow at him (not that he was looking, he just had really good peripheral vision).

“I’ve seen you do the walk of shame so many times, dude. Why don’t you just move into her place?” Connor fought back a snort.

“I’m gay.” He had moved far away from home, he had left, and he could say it now. He could say it out loud as much as he wanted to, and he didn’t care what anyone said, or would say. He had waited almost nineteen years to be able to say it outloud and  _ fuck  _ if he wasn’t gonna say it whenever he pleased.

His neighbor just blinked.

“Okay, then just move into his place?” Connor felt a corner of his mouth twitch and shook his head.

“My roommate has company without warning and I’m not always prepared.” His neighbor nodded.

“I get that. Jake’s girlfriend just invites him over so I get the dorm for the night. You could probably come over, though. If you need a place to stay.” Connor nodded and gave what he hoped was a smile.

“Thanks.”


	2. in which connor wants the floor to swallow him whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor gets to know the minor characters and acts extremely ooc for plots' sake and we are introduced to the boyf riends who don't know theyre in love yet

Connor was just getting back to his dorm when an incoming call from  _ loser #1  _ stopped him outside his room. He pressed his phone between his ear and shoulder and unlocked the door, a sign that his roommate was out.

“Hey, are you here yet?”

_ “Yeah, I wish you would’ve met me out here, but I guess I can find my way there.” _

He snorted.

“Reading signs shouldn’t be hard for an AP student.” She huffed and they both knew he was locking the door again, making his way to meet her halfway, or however far away she was. A college visit was a good excuse to visit and they both knew they missed each other more than they would ever tell each other. When he caught sight of her, he felt himself relax more than he had been for the past few weeks. She ran to him and he recalled thinking  _ oh fuck _ as she launched herself into him.

After he took her back to her friends who had decided to visit this campus with her, she promised to find his dorm as soon as she had free time ( _ he had shaken his head when she told him that she could ditch her group to hang out with him instead _ ). He wondered if he should tell Hansen that Zoe was visiting, but decided against it. He probably already knew, or he would know by the end of the week. He waited for her outside his dorm after receiving  _ im free and omw better have some plans for dinner bc a bitch is starving :///  _ Unfortunately, he didn’t have plans for dinner and basing off the way his roommate had tumbled into their room with the look of someone extremely hungover, he wouldn’t be getting any suggestions from him. Jake, who he didn’t know very well but always got a high five from when they passed each other around campus, held his hand up and Connor fought back a smile before raising his up in response. A few minutes after Jake went into his dorm, Rich opened the door and wiggled his eyebrows at Connor, who rolled his eyes in response.

“You know, waiting outside my dorm like this sends the wrong message.”

“In your dreams, Goranski.”

“ _ Especially,  _ in my dreams, Murphy.”

“Do you know any places that would be white teenager approved around here to eat?” Rich blinked and stepped out of the doorway.

“Weird way to ask me out.”

“Shut up. My little sister is visiting and I need to take the gremlin to eat somewhere.” 

Rich scratched his head and looked at the floor.

“I was gonna go eat with my friends, but you guys could come along? Brooke is picking where we eat, so it’ll be white girl approved.” Connor bit the inside of his cheek to prevent any smiling and nodded.

They waited for Zoe together, making dumb small talk that Connor used to hate with his mother and with her vulture friends, but it was tolerable. Hanging out with Rich usually was ( _ rich had said time after time that connor should just call him rich but connor didn’t even call zoe by her first name to her face _ ).

When she showed up, Rich had tilted his head and squinted, commenting that they didn’t look alike. Connor offered up  _ she’s adopted  _ at the same time Zoe said  _ he ate my real brother. _ Rich gave them a dumb smile and Zoe laughed. It was nice to have her around ( _ not that he would ever say it to her face _ ). They started walking, small talk continuing ( _ zoe and connor had been raised on small talk and could probably spend hours talking only about what was on the news that morning _ ), before Zoe turned to Connor with a look in her eyes that he had seen in his mother’s, and asked if there was any new gossip. He laughed at her and kindly assured her that he had no friends, thus, no gossip to tell. She pouted and turned to Rich, the same question given. He gave Connor a look, probably  _ is she serious?  _ but Connor just raised his eyebrows and said “Well?” Rich laughed.

“Brooke and Chloe are having relationship problems, which we all kinda predicted since we all pretty much paired up in high school, and we’re putting the whole weight of our friendships on one shared experience. Besides, Brooke holds grudges like her life depends on it, and Chloe expects her to let stuff go, so it’s messy.” He ran his fingers through his hair and Connor followed the movement, not paying attention to the way his sister’s eyebrows raised and the twitch of her lips. “I guess just don’t mention being happy around them. But we’re trying to get Heere and Mell to get their heads out of their asses and finally date, so that’s really interesting to watch. They’ve been dancing around each other for years now and we’re kinda sick of it. It’s like one pine session away from turning into a dumb teen movie.” Zoe laughed and elbowed Connor and mouthed  _ you and evan, _ which Connor pretended not to see and elbowed her back.

 

Zoe had brought money with her, but Connor bought her food, asking Jake to hold her back while he pulled out his wallet. She was still a kicker, but she gave up and started talking to the other girls while Rich, Michael, and Connor went to go order. Rich elbowed him and tilted his head towards Michael and winked.

“Soooooo, Mickey. Mell. Mellster.” Connor bit his tongue and tried to not smile as Michael looked up, fear in his eyes at Rich’s tone. “Our dearest friend, Connor, here is gay and single and ready to mingle.” Connor felt his face heat up. He would rather watch Hansen try to flirt with Zoe than participate any longer in this conversation. A glance at Michael told him that the feeling was mutual.

“That’s, uh, that’s cool.” Connor had literally never wanted the ground to open up and swallow him up more in his life.

“I was thinking about setting him up with Jeremy.” Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Okay, he was okay with this.

Michael, however, wasn’t. His skin darkened and Connor hid his laugh by coughing.

“O-oh? Really? Haha… I don’t think Connor is his type.” Rich raised an eyebrow and looked over Connor’s body. Never mind, he was no longer okay with this.

“Why not? Tall, nice hair, pretty eyes, good sense of humor. I think he’s pretty out of Jeremy’s league.” Michael looked over at Connor, and reasonably, Connor should’ve done something to make him more comfortable, but it was too funny, he couldn’t  _ not  _ catch Jeremy’s gaze and wink. Despite his own heated face, it was amusing to see Jeremy go red and Michael’s hands clench into fists.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Rich!” His voice was uneven and too loud and Connor waited until after he left, embarrassed, to laugh. Rich crouched on the floor and wheezed, which only made Connor laugh harder.

 

The meal was loud, with different conversations happening, but Connor tried to navigate through the different people, asking Christine what her favorite movies were ( _ and unable to hold back her smile, she gave him a list of her favorite movies and musicals and songs and _ ), asking Jenna what kind of music she liked ( _ jenna was one of his favorites in the group, she was too quiet, a trait she started showing after they graduated high school _ ), winking at Jeremy ( _ and laughing at  the way michael gripped his utensils)  _ which was noticed by the whole table, leading to suggestive comments towards Michael and Jeremy. As the majority of the table focused on the two, Brooke quietly asked about his sister and Connor noticed the way her hand slipped out of Chloe’s without either of them caring. Chloe was harder to talk to, he had never liked the “popular” girls in high school and it felt weird to try to make a connection where there wasn’t grounds for one. Jake was easy to talk to, especially if Christine was nearby, and he noticed looks between them, wondering if Michael and Jeremy knew they were just as obvious. Connor guessed that Rich noticed the analytical look he was giving, and he leaned into Connor’s side, voice low,  _ chris and jake have been dating for a few months, but they don’t really want to tell the group yet, the gals and the nerds have been giving us enough problems as it is, and any complications would probably mess up the balance. _ Connor nodded. He looked over at Jeremy, who was offering Michael his fries in exchange for his sugar cookie. Michael gave it to him without taking the fries and the dumb smile on Jeremy’s face was gross. Connor turned to Rich, his hair falling onto Rich’s shoulder as he muttered  _ i’ll bet you twenty bucks they both fake date someone else to make the other jealous,  _ and he felt the vibrations of Rich’s laugh against his shoulder and arm.

  
Across the table, Zoe smiled into her drink as Brooke explained the courses she was taking.  _ At least he’s over Hansen. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dabs in spanish


	3. in which connor spends quality time with a ray of sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> connor hangs out with some familiar faces and wins a bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the bet is smth that was mentioned in the last chapter  
> i usually dont update this uh soon ? but its only supposed to be like 7 chapters and im aiming for abt 1.5k each chapter  
> although, i did go a bit overboard and this is about 2.2k. what can i say, i like writing happy connor.  
> as per usual no editing was done so sorry for typos ill fix them at some point

Connor was laying on Christine’s bed, arms reached out as she coated his nails with glittery polish  _ (“holo connor! it’s called holo! and it can solve all the world’s problems just look at the way it looks in this lighting!”) _ while Jeremy ranted, pacing the room and gesturing. Connor had zoned out during the  _ “why does he have to look so good in the morning? it’s illegal!”  _ part of the rant, but as Christine tapped his arm so she could switch hands, Jeremy was entering the  _ “there’s gotta be a way to tell him that i like him without actually saying i like him”  _ part of his daily rant. Connor squinted at him.

“Yeah, and you both do it every time you hang out.” Jeremy’s blush was a pretty common sight and Christine pinched the back of his hand, but didn’t bother hiding her smile.

“Don’t tease him like that, you know how sensitive he is.” Jeremy pointed at her and gaped.

“You aren’t supposed to be on his side! You’re supposed to be on my side! We’re best friends!” Christine nodded, a serious look on her face, but turned back to Connor’s nail with her lips twitching upwards. Connor muffled his laugh in Christine’s pillow.

“We  _ so  _ aren’t best friends. Michael will scratch my records if he hears you.” Jeremy huffed and threw himself on the bed next to Connor, ignoring the snickers from Christine. He looked over at Connor with wide eyes.

“Connor, will  _ you  _ be my best friend?” Before Connor could answer, Christine flicked Jeremy’s forehead.

“No, he cannot. He’s already  _ my _ best friend.” Connor laughed  _ (he had been laughing a lot since meeting his new friends) _ and looked at his nails. Christine had a thing for painting people’s nails, called it therapeutic, and he had no reason to complain. It was a nice activity that they both enjoyed partaking in. He rambled on, and then got embarrassed about oversharing, which she teased him about before encouraging him with a soft smile that never seemed to judge.

 

After a few hours, Jeremy said the magic words, the ones that would fill Connor’s wallet and give him enough teasing material for a lifetime.

“Christine, can you  _ please  _ fake-date me?” Connor’s nails were dry by now, so the fist pump he sent out in the air  _ (jake was starting to influence him- he wasn’t sure if it was good or bad quite yet) _ . Christine, understandably, couldn’t hold in her laughter, collapsing into a fit of giggles, borderline cackling as Connor turned onto his side, holding his stomach as he started to wheeze. “Christine! I’m serious!”

When they couldn’t breathe anymore, Jeremy was redder than Connor had ever seen him, and he had seen him the day Michael showed up with a new haircut that made Connor remember why he was gay  _ (michael was a nerd, he wasn’t anywhere near connor’s type, but just for that day, he could see why jeremy was so enamoured by him, but rich ruffled michael’s hair affectionately and connor noticed that he had re-dyed his hair, not red, but platinum blonde, like he was in a boyband from the nineties, and connor wondered if that’s the reason he seemed to glow in the sunlight lately). _

Christine sat back up, wiping her eyes. She leaned back onto the side of her bed and let her head fall onto her bed, some of her hair tickling Connor’s cheek when he turned back to face Jeremy.

“Jeremy, I have a boyfriend.” Jeremy gaped and flailed so wildly, he fell off the bed. He pointed at Christine and Connor’s cheeks began hurting.

“Okay I have a few questions. First of all, how dare you! Second of all, since when? Third of all, who is it?” Christine pointed back, the glare on her face mocking his.

“How dare  _ you _ ! What kind of best friend doesn’t know that information? I bet Connor knows.” Jeremy turned to Connor, with wide eyes.

“Do… Do you know?” Connor looked over, but pressed his lips against Christine’s hair, murmuring  _ the way jake looks at you is absolutely disgusting sometimes,  _ and smiling as he felt the vibrations of her laughter. She turned to him and he felt a little blinded by her smile, her absolutely dumb in love smile.

“Yeah, Connor knows.  _ See _ , he’s my best friend.” Jeremy stuck out his tongue and started gathering his stuff into his backpack from high school, the one he was teased for but wore anyway, the one he held up next to Michael’s and gave that same smile Connor had seen on Christine and Jake’s  _ (and michael’s)  _ faces, the same dumb teenager in love smile. He pointed at both of them, ignoring the pointing he received in return, and stated  _ i don’t have to put up with this _ . He slammed the door behind him, Christine letting out a puff of air at Connor’s  _ he’s so dramatic i thought you were the theater major.  _ He made it a few seconds before sticking his head back into the room.

“I’m just going back to my dorm. I need to pick up a textbook real quick.” He was waved off and they received a smile in return. Christine stood from the floor and made her way to her backpack, she was neat and kept it in her closet, the only college student he knew that had her life together that probably wouldn’t crash and burn at some point. Connor rolls onto his stomach and looks up at her. He wonders if she believes that they could actually get work done, but she tosses her phone to him and asks him to text Brooke and Jenna to see if they want to come  _ (she also says rich, but she turns to wiggle her eyebrows real dramatically and give him a big wink, so he ignores her) _ over and study. He’s known her password for a few weeks now, when she had thrown her phone and asked him to take a picture for Snapchat, telling him her password without hesitating  _ (even his sister only reached over to press her thumb instead of saying her password) _ . 

“You’re not my best friend, you know? But you’re very close.” He looked up, but she wasn’t looking at him.

“What?” She sent a quick glance to him and shook her head.

“Not in a mean way, I just think you can only have one best friend. Some people disagree, but I… I just think there’s only one person that can mean so much to you. I don’t think I have one, but the closest people to being mine are you and Jake, believe it or not.”

_ (and he did. he believed it because it was the same for him. christine was easy to talk to, she was the go-to when he joined their group, and when rich had to leave early and he was ready to leave with rich, christine had gone after him and offered him a ride home, and by the looks of the others in the group, he stayed, and he’s stayed after all this point, he’s spent his fair share of nights hanging out in her dorm, and falling in platonic love with her smile, and spent time with the others, preferring jenna’s company when jeremy was tripping on his way to greet michael and when chloe lashed her tongue and brooke’s eyes blazed fire, but he stayed. christine was the closest thing he had to a best friend, too, believe it or not) _

“But I didn’t tell you who I was dating, and I don’t think Jake would tell you.” She turned to him, textbooks in hand. “So, I’m not your best friend. Rich is.” She set her textbooks down next to him and he looked down at them, and reached out, touching her wrist. She made a soft surprised noise and he looked up at her.

“You’re wrong. You’re my best friend. Goranski is Dillinger’s, Heere is Mell’s, Rolan is Lohst’s, and Valentine, well Valentine doesn’t have one but I think that’s by choice. But you, Canigula, you are my best friend.” She gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen and he wondered if the people who thought that people of opposite genders couldn’t be best friends had never met someone like Christine Canigula.

 

When Jeremy returned, followed by Brooke, Jenna, and Rich  _ (christine winked and mouthed  _ _ you owe me _ _ and maybe he did),  _ who found seats around Christine’s dorm. Brooke launched herself onto her bed, rolling until she nearly pushed Connor off of it, to which he elbowed her, but relented, leaning against the side of the bed where Christine had been. Jenna sat at Christine’s desk, backwards because she rebelled in little ways that didn’t hurt anyone. Jeremy, the disaster bisexual that he was, hopped onto Christine’s desk. Rich sat down next to Connor, giving him a stupid smile. They were supposed to study, Connor remembers, but it would be impossible to when he’s got some of his favorite people in one place. Brooke hijacks the conversation before Jeremy can ask anyone for help.

“I’m thinking group costumes, Halloween is coming up”  _ “brooke there’s still like a month until halloween”  _ “and we need to be organized, guys. Christine, I need ideas and I trust your theater experience.” 

Christine spins around and her eyes are glittering.

“I’m thinking Heathers.” Brooke snapped, her smile wider than Connor had seen it in a while. She points at Jeremy, and snaps.

“You’re the obvious Veronica here, but lets face it, Michael has been waiting for any opportunity to show off his legs.” Rich snorted. Brooke whipped around to point at Rich.

“You and Jake are obviously Kurt and Ram.”

“Obviously,” everyone echoed, but they were waved off as Brooke locked her gaze on Connor.

“You’re such a J.D., damn it Connor, why are you such a goth?” Connor raised an eyebrow and turned to Rich.

“I don’t even know if I’m supposed to be offended.” Rich snorted again and bumped his shoulder against Connor’s. Brooke turned to Christine and pointed  _ (connor wondered who started pointing first, jeremy or brooke, and why they only made fun of jeremy) _ at her.

“We need a planning sesh asap as possible.” Jenna covered her smile and Rich buried his laugh into Connor’s shoulder.

 

Jeremy offered to walk Jenna to her dorm and she fluttered her lashes at him,  _ i guess chivalry isn’t dead after all, what would michael say _ , but accepted his offer. Brooke rushed after them, despite Jenna teasingly calling out behind her shoulder that she wasn’t welcome to them  _ (although when connor looked out the window, he saw brooke throw her arms around jeremy and jenna) _ . Rich lingered and took over Christine’s bed while Connor and Christine tore up old notes and threw tiny balls of paper to throw at him. Rich was tired after the “study” session, and his usual rambling was slow, even taking pauses. Christine had a mellowing effect to her, so Connor couldn’t blame him. He kneeled, turning to the bed, toward Rich. Some of the pieces of paper had landed in his hair and without thinking, he started picking them out. Rich opened an eye and when he realized it was Connor, he gave a soft smile and closed his eye again. There was a pink dusting on his cheeks and Connor felt a warm buzzing in his chest as he resisted the urge to trace the burn scars and freckles on his face  _ (a part of him also wanted to play connect the dots with a sharpie, but maybe not now, not when rich looked so vulnerable).  _ He ran out of paper to remove, but his fingers didn’t stop brushing through Rich’s hair.

Christine cleared her throat, but it didn’t stop Connor’s fingers. She gave him a knowing smile, and held up her phone, showing that Jake was coming over soon, so they would have to leave soon. He pulled Rich up, when they passed Jake in the hall, Connor gave the mandatory high five, and Jake wiggled his eyebrows  _ (and maybe jake and christine were more perfect for each other than connor had initially realized) _ . When they were about to separate, Rich pulled Connor with him into his dorm, and although he had been here before, it felt different this time. Rich fell back onto his bed and patted the bed next to him. Connor obliged and they didn’t say anything.

“My mom used to do that too, the whole hair thing. It was really nice.” His voice was scratchy when Rich broke the silence. Connor turned to him, shifting to his side, mirroring the same movements that Rich did. His fingers found their way back into Rich’s hair, but their eyes were open, and they didn’t stop looking at each other until they fell asleep  _ (did they ever really stop looking at each other). _

 

**moe_zurphy** : is it rlly that bad???

**christiiiine** : its gd unbearable

**moe_zurphy** : r u gonna say anythin

**christiiiine** : absolutely not jeremy asked me to fake date him today and i will not deal w another one of these hopeless gays

**christiiiine** : as soon as jeremy and michael get their shit together im goin to go to town on the connor rich situation

**moe_zurphy** : hell yeah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ur comments give me energy to write. pls donate to my cause thx.  
> i dont know what to do with the ladies bc i love them and i obviously im gonna have endgame zoe/brooke but like,,, what abt jenna and chloe ??? hm  
> if u wanna yell @ me do it on tumblr dot com: [leafylgbtq](http://leafylgbtq.tumblr.com/)


	4. in which connor celebrates halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the obligatory halloween party  
> slight chloe redemption  
> jared is an asshole bc op doesn't actually like him  
> and an unexpected development

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i used a random name picker for their costumes so thats the disclaimer  
> theyre all ooc bc i haven't paid attention to either fandom in a While  
> the usual bs

It was the week before Halloween when everything went to shit. Hansen somehow found out that Zoe was coming down to visit him for the dumb college party that he had to be bribed into going and bribed into bringing his baby sister to, so now Hansen begged him to come over and rate costumes. He remembered a time he would’ve been thrilled to spend any time with Hansen, when he would’ve practically vomited the butterflies that exploded into his stomach when Hansen looked over at him, when he begged Zoe to stay home, knowing that Hansen would come over at any time if he knew Zoe would be there.

But things were different now, and now they were shit. He didn’t particularly like Hansen, their friendship was one of convenience, Hansen needed him to pretend that they were friends when he came out of his self induced coma, and Connor needed a friend. Connor needed a friend and he got Hansen instead. His sister started coming coming with him to therapy a few months in and he stopped thinking of the negatives, thinking about how he should’ve done it better, so he wouldn’t have gone into a coma instead of a coffin, and he focused on the positives. Well he tried to. Instead of counting sheep, he counted blessings. He counted the times he knocked on Zoe’s door to apologize for what he said, he counted the hugs his mother gave him, he counted the attempts his father gave him to make conversation.

But things were different now, and Connor didn’t need Hansen. And he _sure_ didn’t need Kleinman here, either. In fact, he wouldn’t have even come to Hansen’s dorm if he knew Kleinman would be here. He hoped the weird look on Kleinman’s face meant the feeling was mutual. He sat on the floor and pulled out his phone, ready to spend the entire time complaining to Rich, or to Christine, or to anyone who would listen. While Hansen pulled on costumes for a makeshift runway show, Kleinman sat on the corner of Hansen’s bed and cleared his throat a few times. Connor didn’t know what that was about and just tried to decipher what the emojis in Jake’s text were supposed to contribute to his message. But then he sent a photo of him and Rich in their costumes and Connor somehow understood. Maybe hanging around Christine gave him powers. The power to understand emojis was still a power.

 _(brooke had written names that would decide their costumes on scraps of paper and thrown them into a hat. connor underwent the five stages of grief as he realized the risk, since there were only two male parts, but if michael was wearing to show off his legs, then connor guess he could risk it too. christine offered to go first, to just take the plunge and get it over with. she, of course, was blessed, and pulled out_ **_veronica sawyer_ ** _, eyes glittering. connor wondered if she had gone first to get it over with or because she wanted to have a wide variety of options. rich went next, leaning over connor to pick a name, fist pump almost causing him to lose his balance, but connor was there and he caught him. rich grinned and held up his paper for the world to see. brooke groaned, she had been wanted to be_ **_heather macnamara_ ** _, but connor thinks that she probably had enough experience as heather macnamara in high school. rich turned to him and smiled, almost maliciously before tilting his head to the hat. connor groaned. “really? me next?” rich shrugged. “i guess you could admit you’re too chicken…” “in your dreams, goranski” “especially in my dreams, murphy.” but he pulled a name._ **_ram sweeney_ ** _was written neatly in brooke’s handwriting and he let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. he turned to rich and grinned. “don’t get any ideas, now, mac, it’ll all be for show.” but rich just wiggled his eyebrows, but chloe interrupted before he could say anything, asking if she could pick next, brooke handing christine the hat to offer to chloe, her face stony. the break up hadn’t be amicable… at all… not even a tiny bit. he did catch some satisfaction in her eyes when chloe held up_ **_pre-heathers veronica_ ** _though. it was a start. jenna wiggled her fingers, and christine offered her the hat next. she winked at christine and waved around the_ **_jason dean_ ** _, making connor laugh at the over exaggerated wink that christine gave back, and the smile that jake was giving them both, the face of someone who probably never got jealous. when christine held the hat out in front of him, connor could see the challenge in her gaze. jake just laughed and pulled a name. he turned to rich, voice deadpan and said “god my mom is gonna absolutely shit herself when she sees me as_ **_heather chandler_ ** _, she couldn’t get me to wear a dress when i was younger, and now i’m gonna do it because of a tiny theater girl.” rich cackled and had to lean against connor for support, and even christine had to bite back a laugh as she let out “damn right.” when michael pulled_ **_heather duke_ ** _, he cheered, rolling up his pants to show off his ankle, claiming it was just a sneak preview of what was to come. jeremy flushed red and told him to tag his not safe for work, earning a shove and a “you don’t hear me bitchin’ when you talk about your fursona.” the blush only got worse, but at least they were all laughing. jeremy reached out, since he was already next to michael, and pulled out_ **_draino chandler_ ** _, groaning when he realized the girls would probably make him come over hours before they were supposed to meet up to do some make up. connor asked if he could pick for zoe and christine made her way back to where she had been initially standing. he pulled out_ **_martha dunstock_ ** _and laughed. “you know, i think she does have a unicorn sweater somewhere.” brooke sighed, loud and dramatic and pulled out the remaining scrap, holding her fist out to bump connor’s as she read out_ **_kurt kelly_ ** _. “it’s you and me, bro,” and he knew he would regret the day he befriended brooke lohst, “were makin this happen.” he groaned but bumped her fist back.)_

Hansen asked them for their opinion on his dumb tree costume, but Connor only smiled at his phone, typing back _lookin good ms mac._

Kleinman glanced over at him again and tried to have a conversation. Connor forgave Hansen, he did, and while he couldn’t stand his dumb obsession with his sister, he still tolerated him. He didn’t have to forgive Kleinman, and he had no intention to.

“Are you dressing up for Hallowe-”

“Yup.” He got a text from Christine, telling him his costume was in. He stood, grateful for an excuse to leave. He turned to Hansen, who probably expected him to leave, but still couldn’t hide the hurt on his face. Connor felt exhausted suddenly.

“I need to go to get my costume so Chris can alter it.” He pointed, trying to channel Brooke’s chaotic energy. “Stay away from my sister, Hansen. And, Kleinman,” who jumped at his name, “stay away from me. I’ll see you guys at the party if you go.”

 

Christine had Michael, Rich, and Jake in her room, with Brooke texting Connor to ask him to pick up her costume and take it to her dorm. He snickered at Michael modeling in front of Christine’s tiny makeup mirror as Rich wolf-whistled. Christine was giggling in front of her closet with Jake putting on the red blazer. He smiled at his friends and, as usual, held up his hand for obligatory high five. He wiggled his eyebrows towards Michael, a wink being the usual greeting because he would never not find it amusing to see Michael being torn between annoyance and gay panic. Christine went back into her closet and pulled out a clothing hanger with a red varsity jacket. He knew Christine hadn't done an exact replication, but she had done a really good job with the embellishments ( _Sweeney_ on the back) and patches. She held up another embellishment with _Murphy_ written in cursive.

“I was thinking that after Halloween, I could probably replace some of the patches and change the name, but I've gotten a lot of practice with patching up Michael's.” Connor smiled gratefully, there were rarely any words to articulate his appreciation for Christine. He hoped his _thanks chris_ was enough. Going by her smile, she understood.

_(he had started calling her chris after spilling out his embarrassing tragic backstory to her, moved by her gentle fingers braiding his hair and her soft voice confessing her own. it took a lot of trust to admit what she had, and he felt his chest grow warmer as the realization that they really were best friends set in. she always spoke in a soft voice when they were alone, noticing he didn't react well when someone raised their voice at him, and even when he snapped at her after a long day, she just stared back and replied in an even voice. she understood he was angry, even years of therapy couldn't help him when he constantly faced one of the sources of his anger. she understood that he could claim forgiveness, but it didn't mean he actually forgave. she was comfort, she was reassuring, she was exactly what he needed. she was christine canigula, and she was his best friend.)_

Michael was looking at him, too intensely, the way he only seemed to look at a calculus problem he couldn't seem to understand. Rich noticed and elbowed Connor lightly, an exaggerated wink sent his way.

“Watch out, Murphy. Jeremy might sense a disturbance in the force.” Michael flushed dark red and Connor choked out a laugh. He rubbed the back of his neck and kept his gaze on the jacket in his hands.

“You alright, Mell?” Michael's head jerked up and he gave a stiff nod, but then turned to Christine and asked for privacy. She gave him a blank stare.

“It's my room.” But she was swayed by his pout. She was too easy sometimes and rolled her eyes, but did allow them ten minutes to _try on costumes_ while they spoke. Jake and Rich gave him a weird look, but Connor felt like he was about to experience something extremely uncomfortable.

“Connor, listen, I know we aren't like, close or anything, but I need you to do me a huge favor. I'll owe you big time.” _this did not sound good at all._ “I need you to fake date me.”

Connor counted the beats of silence and he didn't look away from Michael's face, looking desperately for any sign of a joke. He didn't see the way Jake's mouth twitched before bursting out into laughter, or the way Rich turned pale, hands clenching.

“What?” He wasn't sure if it came out as a question or statement, but his voice was the most deadpan he had ever heard it. Michael ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

“It's just, Jeremy has been really close to Christine lately and he told me they were dating now” _jake choked on his water and rich grinned_ “and I really, really don't want to be alone while they look at cute and in love, because of course it's Jeremy and Christine, it's always been Jeremy and Christine, and I should've seen it coming.”

“Of course,” Connor repeated. He knew Jeremy had been planning for this, but he didn't think Michael would actually believe it. He didn't think _anyone_ would actually believe it.

“And Jake is too obviously straight-” Jake choked again, coughing loudly. Connor frowned.

“Dillinger? Straight? As if.” Michael paused his rant and looked at Jake.

“You… You aren't straight?” Jake was still coughing, but shook his head, hitting Rich's shoulder. Rich was still smiling in a dumb way.

“Jake likes guys, gals, nonbinary pals. Someone could have an alligator in their pants, and he would probably still be into that.” Jake, still trying to clear his throat was unable to defend himself. Not that anyone cared.

“Okay, well, still. Jeremy wouldn't believe me and Jake dating. He's way out of my league.” Connor fought back a smile. “And he wouldn't believe Rich, either, so that leaves Connor.”

“Whoa, why wouldn't he believe me? Everyone knows I'm the bi-est in town. Even our resident furry isn't more bi than me.” Michael turned to him, eyebrows furrowed. He glanced slightly at Connor, then back to Rich.

“Well, uh, I thought it was pretty obvious. He already… um… knows who you like? He wouldn't believe you would date me.” Rich turned bright red and walked into Christine's closet, shutting the door behind him. Connor felt a grin stretch across his face and knocked on the door.

“I didn't know someone took your fancy, Goranski.”

“Shut up, Murphy. I'm in the closet and I'm suddenly homophobic.” Connor rolled his eyes and knocked again.

“I'm a little heartbroken you wouldn't tell me who it is. I thought we were friends.”

“Murphy, look at your hands. Are you looking at them? Roll one into a fist and punch yourself in the throat.” Connor snorted.

“Just tell me who. I'm trying to be a wingman here.” Rich said _shut up_ one more time, but quieter, so Connor decided to leave him alone. He turned back to Michael.

“Yeah. I'll do it.” Michael's eyes widened.

“Really? That's really cool of you.” Connor shrugged.

“It's not a big deal. Anything to get you and Heere to be gay furries together.” Michael flipped him off and called Christine back into the room. She pretended like she hadn't been listening the entire time, and Michael awkwardly told her that he had sent her out so he could ask Connor out. She faked surprise and Michael smiled in relief. Now that Connor thought about it, he wasn't actually sure whether Michael realized that Christine knew the truth. After Michael left, no doubt to tell Jeremy so they could pine in mutual silence, Jake offered to take Christine to buy lunch. She warned Connor and Rich to not destroy her room, and left. Connor slid down next to the closet door and knocked. Rich sounded muffled.

“What do you want?”

“For you to come out.” Rich gave a soft laugh.

“I'm bi!” He called out. Connor rolled his eyes.

“You know what I mean.” There was silence, and Connor shut his eyes, vaguely wondering where Christine had put Brooke's costume.

“So you're gonna pretend to date Michael.” His eyes stayed shut and he couldn't imagine the look on Rich's face.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

There was another silence.

“You're way out of Michael's league.” Connor smiled.

“You sound a bit jealous there, Goranski.” Rich scoffed.

“In your dreams, Murphy.” He heard the sound of Rich grasping the door knob.

“Especially in my dreams, Goranski.” The door knob turned.

 

The Halloween party was what every shitty teen movie Zoe forced him to watch showed parties to be like. He showed up with his big group of friends, holding on tightly to Zoe’s hand to not lose her in the crowd. His parents would murder him if something happened to Zoe under his watch. She was talking to Brooke as they walked through the rooms, a smile ghosting on Brooke’s face. Jake was sucked into the crowd, pulled in by his friends, who were already sloshing their drinks and spilling beer out of their red cups. Michael’s fingers were around his other wrist, glancing over at Christine and Jeremy who were holding hands. Connor had almost laughed at the jealousy on his face, because Christine held hands with anyone who let her. Connor had spent his fair share of walks, Christine swinging their hands between them as they made their way across campus.

Some people started greeting Michael, and Connor remembered Jeremy saying to him that Michael used to say that they would be cool in college, and he guessed that Michael was right, but Jake was still as charismatic as he had ever been, but honestly, Connor didn’t think popularity counted after graduation.

Connor pulled himself loose from Michael and pulled Zoe to get some drinks. Even after all this time, he still hadn’t gotten used to being at parties. He took a sip from his cup and took away Zoe’s cup. She protested, but he wouldn’t budge on his _zoe can’t drink alcohol unless we’re in someone i trust’s dorm_ rule. She rolled her eyes and asked if she could go hang out with Brooke. He winked at her, and she punched his arm, but promised to check in later. He finished his drink and grabbed another cup. A yellow jacket caught his attention and he smiled as Rich was spun by Jake, skirt flaring out. He took another sip.

 

The music was loud and the beat pounded in his ears, skin buzzing. He was spinning around Zoe, but she twirled out of his grasp into Brooke’s arms, both of their laughter bouncing and his chest warmed, Jeremy was red, and so was Michael, but they had giant dumb smiles on their faces, drunk off their asses, but they looked happy… even if their dancing didn’t match the music. Chloe had done a really good job with Jeremy’s makeup, and Michael had already taken off his blazer, tie loosened up. As he looked around at his group of friends, he noticed Jake had already taken off his tie _(christine was using it to bring him closer, her eyes shining),_ and had his top blouse buttons undone, showing off his white binder. Connor’s eyes widened at the realization, but he was quickly distracted by Rich appearing in front of him, a gross dopey smile on his face. He felt his cheeks heat up. Rich leaned up, grabbing his shoulders to bring him down and pressed his lips against Connor’s ear, _lets dance._ He nodded and let Rich pretty much move him around. He had never had this before, a group of friends who spent time with him that wasn’t just to talk about his sister, friends who wanted him to come over and study, friends who weren’t scared of him, who all understood his silence on what happened in high school, who never pushed him to open up. He had never gotten invited to parties, for what he felt were obvious reasons, and he never had a group of friends who would go out of their ways to include him so he never felt left out. He looked down at Rich, the one who had given him all of this, the one who had started all of this. Rich was looking up at him, too, and Connor had never felt so grateful for someone. He wondered if it was the alcohol that caused him to press his forehead against Rich’s, muttering _thank you, for all of this,_ the smile that he received was worth the wolf whistle from Jenna, who was probably the only one who was paying attention. He felt Rich’s laugh and he had never wanted to kiss someone more in his life. It was all, so, much. The lights were blinding, the beat of the music replacing his heartbeat, Rich’s smile, Rich’s laugh, the smell of flavored alcohol in their breaths. Rich was leaning up, the same glittery look in his eyes that Connor recognized in Christine’s when Jake was being all mushy with her. Rich had his eyes closed now, it was up to Connor whether he leaned down, and he was going to, _god himself couldn’t stop him from leaning down,_ but Jared fucking Kleinman cutting into his bubble of friends could. Jared fucking Kleinman asking Connor if he could talk to him, that could stop him. Rich looked up at Connor, hurt in his eyes, but he backed off, and Connor nodded numbly, saying _to be continued?_ and receiving a smile and nod in response, his brain was still too muddled with just _Rich_ to wonder what they had promised. Jared took hold of his hand and Connor thought _this doesn't feel as warm as rich's or christine's._ He would rather have held Jenna's and she was notorious for always having cold hands, even in the suffocating heat, when they all took turns with her hands pressed against their foreheads or the back of their necks. Connor waved, still feeling cloudy, as they passed Evan, who had chosen a tree after all. It was a bit ridiculous, he wasn't gonna lie.

Connor wondered if they were ever gonna stop, or how Jared knew the place, but they stopped in a bedroom.

“I'm too drunk to consent, Kleinman.” Jared shook his head.

“I just wanted to talk.” Connor nodded and sat on the bed, laying back, wondering if he could sober up enough to keep a conversation going. Probably not. “Who was that guy? Your, uh, boyfriend?” Connor groaned.

“We're friends. What do you want?” Jared looked uncomfortable, and Connor tried to recall the past time Jared looked anything near uncomfortable. He couldn't remember, but maybe that was just because he had chosen to repress any memories with Jared in them.

“I think… I think I like guys.”

“Congratulations. Can I leave now?” _To be continued_ , wasn't that what he had said? He wanted to go back to Rich and find out what would have happened next.

“No, I mean, I wanna confirm it, you know? And you're the only gay guy I've ever met,” Connor scoffed, still on his back while Jared glared at him, “and I wanted to see if I could be attracted to a guy.”

“Hansen is bi, just try him.”

“I don't want Evan. I want-” He looked frustrated, “well I don't know what I want, but it isn't Evan, okay?” Connor rolled his eyes.

“Have you considered that maybe, this isn't that would interest me?” Jared looked a bit taken aback, like maybe he hadn't considered it.

“It wouldn't?” Connor wanted to laugh. When he had begged whatever deity that watched over him for that special someone to want him back, when he had pined hopelessly for Evan to notice him, he hadn't meant _Jared,_ in fact Jared was the last person he had meant.

“Oh, you thought that calling me names and making my life hell was flirting? Why would I ever consider you?” Jared was red, but Connor couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or angry.

“People change, you forgave Evan, didn't you?”

“Yeah, people do change.” He was getting angry, too. “What Hansen did was twisted and sick and it's a bit disgusting to think about, but he at least felt _bad_ after I woke up. You were just more of an asshole.” He didn't know when he had stood up, but he was, and he felt his heartbeat in his head. “You think you're the shit, don't you? For having to put up with Hansen and me, but you're just another high school asshole who hadn't realized that being a shitty person doesn't you anywhere. So, fuck off.”

 

He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, but it needed to be far from here.

 _To be continued._ He swore loudly and looked around, not recognizing where he was or how to get back to the party, back to Rich. He saw another lone person sitting on a park bench and squinted, making his way over when his buzzy head processed who it was.

“Why didn't you go to the party, Valentine? Chris worked hard to get our costumes.” Her head jerked up and she scowled.

“Right. I'll go to a party with a group of people that contains my ex and the girl she wants to date. Great idea.” Oh, she was in that mood. He sat on the bench next to her.

“Being a bitch isn't going to get Lohst back, you know.” He heard her huff, but didn't look at her.

“I don't _want_ her back.”

“Then why are you upset?” She turned to face him, and he could see her face was twisted in anger, but he was fucking mad, too, and if he wanted to provoke Chloe, then so be it. It wasn't like they were close, he wasn't sure he would even consider her a friend. He hadn't gotten along with the popular girls in high school, and that wasn't going to suddenly change in college. Christine had thawed him out, but befriending Chloe Valentine the way she acted on a daily basis? Not gonna happen.

“It's none of your business.” Definitely not gonna happen. He rolled his eyes and stood up.

“Okay. I'll see you around then.” He made it a few feet away from her before he heard the quiet _wait._ He turned and she twisted up her face again before sighing and crossing her arms.

“Do you actually care?” He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“I would absolutely not still be here for any other reason.” She sighed again and patted the place he had been sitting. He obliged and leaned back against the arm rest to face her. She took a deep breath and leaned back, staring up at the sky.

“It just… sucks. When Brooke and I broke up, I knew things were going to change, with our friends and being roommates, and I _knew_ that. But it was still the right decision. I didn't… I didn't think that it would change this much, though. We've all been close since high school, and now? I can't even… it's hard to live together. It's hard to hang out as friends. Jeremy and Michael, they've always been closer to Brooke, and you know, by extension, I knew Christine would probably be more on her side, but…” Her shoulders started to tremble and he could hear her voice shake. “I guess I didn't think I would lose all my friends. I depended on them, for everything, and pushed away people, and now I have no one.” She looked over at Connor and gave him a shaky smile. “I bet they didn't even notice I wasn't there. It's whatever, though. It just sucks. After all we've been through, I didn't think it would end like this.”

Silence fell and he looked away as she wiped her face. He took a deep breath.

“I tried to kill myself last year.” Her gaze was on him, but he couldn't look over at her even if he wanted to. “Clearly, it didn't work. Didn't pop enough pills to die, but just enough to put me into a coma. They found a note in my pocket and thought it was mine, and it turned into this big dumb thing, and it just got messier when I woke up. Suddenly, I had friends who had proof of our friendship, but it wasn't real. I didn't… I didn't really feel like I had anyone either, no one who knew the truth. Trauma bonds you to people, I guess.” She laughed quietly and nodded.

“I started using, you know, weed, to help me deal with some of this shit recently. Michael would absolutely _murder_ me if he knew I was smoking. Everyone would. We all worked hard to get him and Jeremy and Rich to stop, and it would be an insult to them if they found out. They say you can't get addicted to weed, but it's pretty fucking hard to stop.” He knew. He knew better than anyone. Zoe had driven him to therapy and deleted the numbers off his phone, had helped him through the nights he needed a smoke.

They spent the next few hours exchanging stories, exchanging weaknesses, being real human beings with each other. People started spilling out, leaving their parties to finally go home, some of them stumbling, and they both spotted a group of people with unmistakable costumes. Chloe stood up and tried to leave, but Connor reached out.

“You should tell them.” Her eyes watered and she nodded stiffly. “Maybe not all of them, but take it one at a time.”

He pulled her gently with him as he approached his friends. They all stared at Chloe, as if just remembering she was supposed to be there, supposed to be drunk and giggly at the party with them. She turned to Connor and stepped in front of Brooke, who was pretty much sober, preferring to keep actual conversations with Zoe instead of the drunken babble that was spilling out of Jeremy's mouth. Brooke stared back, face even and stony, an expression she had probably learned from Connor. Chloe took a final look over at Connor, before meeting Brooke's gaze.

“I'm sorry.” Brooke's face softened and her mouth opened slightly. Being friends as long as they had, Brooke probably understood what she was trying to say. Chloe opened her mouth to continue, but Brooke launched herself forward and wrapped her arms around her. The rest of the gang looked over at each other, and then surrounded them and engaged in the drunkest group hug Connor had ever seen. Jake, the tallest, therefore the one who was on the outside, looked over at him and tilted his head. Connor wasn't about to reject any invitation to a group hug, being as touch starved as he was.

Zoe was offered the night over at Brooke and Chloe's dorm, but she refused politely, knowing the girls needed time to talk. Christine threw her arm around Zoe's shoulder and told her that she could stay her dorm, but then Jake winked and Christine retracted her offer. Jenna rolled her eyes and pulled Zoe away, flipping off Connor when he called out _be gentle!_ As they parted ways, Rich suggested Connor stay over. They'd been doing that a lot lately, and he wasn't sure it was because Christine and Jake were actually just spending more time together or whether Jake was doing it solely for Connor to sleep over. Not that they anything. Just laid next to each other and kept banter going until one of them brought up softer topics.

Rich crossed his arms and Connor felt a bit uneasy. He didn't like seeing Rich upset, much less upset at _him_.

“You okay?” Rich shook his head. “Oh, you aren't talking to me?” He got a glare in response and sighed. “I can't read your mind. Just talk to me.” When Rich didn't answer him, he sighed again and stood up, holding out his hand. Rich hesitantly dropped his arms and took the outstretched hand.

 

When they reached the roof, Rich was shivering slightly, having taken off his yellow blazer at the party and thrown it at Zoe earlier. Connor shrugged off his varsity jacket and offered it to Rich, who didn't dignify him with any response. He sighed for the millionth time that night and draped it around Rich's shoulders, sliding his hands up Rich's neck and cupping his face. Rich's face was cold, and his eyes were narrowed.

“What's wrong?” Rich still didn't say anything. Connor leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, softening Rich's expression.

“Who was he?” Connor laughed quietly.

“Are you jealous?” Rich huffed, but closed his eyes.

“Yeah, a bit.” Connor felt his face heat up and shook his head.

“You shouldn't be.” Rich suddenly smiled and pulled away.

“Me versus the guy he tells me not to worry about. Except this time, I actually don't have to worry.” He was laughing to himself, but Connor couldn't stop the small smile on his own face.

“Hey, Murphy,” he was leaning down, and Rich was leaning up. “You said to be continued, right?” Connor hummed. “Is now good for you?” Connor laughed.

“Now is fucking fantastic.”

“Good.”

There weren't fireworks when they met in the middle. There wasn't a choir singing when they kissed. There wasn't even an explosion of butterflies in his stomach.

But it was Something. His face heated up and he felt Rich wrap his arms around his neck, his own hands sliding down to Rich's side, finding a place to stay at his waist, pulling him closer. It wasn't butterflies, but his chest felt warmer, not from the alcohol, but from Something Else.

It felt a lot like coming home.

 

 **_christine:_ ** _welcome to the group chat_

 **_zoe:_ ** _our own personal hell_

 **_michael:_ ** _??? all i asked was whether you knew about something goin on between rich and connor_

 **_zoe:_ ** _the only qualification for The Group Chat is sight_

 **_christine:_ ** _you'd have to be blind to not see it tbh_

 **_michael:_ ** _is there like a plan???_

 **_christine:_ ** _they seem to be pretty oblivious so far, but if nothing is done for another week, we're stepping in_

 **_zoe:_ ** _knowing my brother, nothing is gonna happen for the next YEAR_

 **_christine:_ ** _cryingcat.jpg_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was the longest chapter??? it was supposed to be 1k and then i just uh kept going  
> also there was a smooch bc i had a bit to drink  
> sorry if the sentences... gross... i forgot how to speak english  
> also!!! [Zoodan21](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoodan21/pseuds/Zoodan21) drew [this amazing art](https://newspapernom.tumblr.com/post/180183614889/uhhh-i-had-2-hours-i-needed-to-procrastinate-away) for the last chapter!!! and im in love with it and also them!!!!


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